Some extreme temperatures met the Coastal Mountain Conference track teams Saturday as they gathered at St. Helena High for their league championships.
No one seemed to handle the heat better than hometown St. Helena sensation Tutui Gomes.
Gomes showed he will be a force to be reckoned with in the North Coast Section this year as he started off the meet with a 22.57 trials run into the wind in the 200 meters. He followed that with a leg on the 400 relay team that took the title at 44.13. He then covered the 400 all by himself in 49.83 and then won the 200 finals in 22.60, again into the wind. In the last running event of the day Gomes took the anchor baton in the 1600 relay in third place, a good 50 meters behind the leaders, and made a great effort to try to catch them, but fell short with Fort Bragg winning in 3:34.23 to St. Helena’s 3:35.79.
Fort Bragg was the dominant boys’ team with a trio of double winners.
Leith Butler won the high jump (6-0) and triple jump (41-8½) for the Timberwolf’s.
Teammate Carlos Portillo added to their point total with wins in both hurdle races (16.62, 41.54). “I was definitely looking to improve my high hurdle time and took a whole .6 seconds off my best today,” said Portillo. “I was told by my coaches that I should run the 300 hurdles this year and was hoping for 44 seconds so the 41 I ran shows that the hard work had paid off.”
Jacob Richards was their third double winner taking the pole vault (10-6) and discus (123-8).
Sonoma Academy’s Aaron Rotman who battled the high temperatures of the day to win both the 1600 (4:34.29) and 3200 (10:53.68) was also a double winner. “I’ll tell you, the weather was painful while we were running,” said Rotman. “I wasn’t going for any bests today, just first.”
On the girls side, Clear Lake enjoyed scoring the most points with a lot of them coming from Nadine Bradley, who won both the 100 (13.37) and high jump (4-8) plus helping on the winning 400 relay team (53.97).
“This was a good experience to prepare for the upcoming NCS meets, “ said Bradley.
Other girls double winners of the meet were Sonoma Academy’s Melissa French, who beat the fields in the 300 hurdles (49.01) and long jump (14-10). “I kind of liked the heat today,” said French. “Usually I’m all bundled up in sweats.”
And St. Helena’s Marina Spadarotto also pulled of a double, winning the 400 (60.73) and the 200 (26.85).
Other girls winners included Mendocino’s Erin Thomas 1600(5:31.69), Potter Valley’s Jessica Crowhurst pole vault (6-7), Middletown’s Emily Reed triple jump (30-2¼), St Vincent’s Sarah Tarrant shot (33-6) and Cloverdale’s 1600 relay (4:38.83).
And on the boys side St. Helena’s Chris Kewell 100 (11.62), Clear Lake’s Zuhuri Manley long jump (21-6½), Middletown’s Nick Dellia shot (45-9) and Sonoma Academy’s Austin Orr 800(2:05.29).